SunDrive has signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with global solar equipment leaders Maxwell Technologies and Vistar Equipment Technology to co-develop and distribute commercial-scale direct-copper plating tools, to unlock the full potential of high-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) solar cells.
This agreement is a successful demonstration of SunDrive’s previously announced strategic model: to focus on its core strengths in solar innovation and technology development while partnering with world-leading equipment developers and manufacturers to accelerate commercialisation.
Last year SunDrive announced a collaboration with global solar manufacturer Trinasolar to pursue the establishment of domestic solar manufacturing in Australia. This joint-development partnership with Maxwell and Vistar represents the path to industrialise SunDrive’s technology from pilot-scale to commercial-scale, to enable deployment in the manufacturing context.
By combining SunDrive’s breakthrough copper metallisation technology with Maxwell and Vistar’s industrialisation expertise and extensive market reach, the partnership paves the way for rapid scale-up and future deployment in domestic and global manufacturing lines.
Maxwell is the global market leader in HJT solar cell production equipment, supplying more than 80% of installed capacity worldwide. SunDrive, Maxwell, and Vistar have collaborated closely for over five years, achieving multiple technical milestones. Notably, SunDrive and Maxwell jointly achieved a world-record cell efficiency of 25.54% in 2021, and have co-authored several publications in leading scientific journals, including Nature, underscoring the depth of the parties ongoing technological cooperation.
“This partnership is a clear validation of SunDrive’s strategy: to focus on world-class solar innovation, right here in Australia, and partner with the best in the industry to bring it to market. Maxwell and Vistar’s extensive track record in bringing commercial-scale solar cell production equipment rapidly to market, and distributing at-scale, represents the ideal launchpad for SunDrive to take our technology to Australia and the world,” said Natalie Malligan, CEO of SunDrive.
The shift from silver to copper is essential to the future of solar manufacturing. As silver becomes more expensive and supply chains tighten, copper offers a scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable alternative. This collaboration helps support HJT’s long-term viability by addressing one of its biggest material constraints.
Mr. Zhou Jian, Chairman of Maxwell, said at the JDA signing ceremony: "Technological innovation is the cornerstone for the photovoltaic industry to overcome cycles and advance toward a brighter future. We hope this collaboration will deepen our joint R&D capabilities in copper plating, achieve new breakthroughs in cell conversion efficiency, module power output, and mass producibility, as well as propel HJT technology into the 780W+ era, opening new frontiers for the industry's development."
Mr. Gong Qing, General Manager of Vistar, said: "We have maintained long-term attention and experimentation with copper plating technology. Starting with seed-layer copper in 2022, we then turned our focus to direct plating technology developed by Maxwell in 2024. Witnessing the advantages of this technology has further strengthened our confidence in it. We look forward to generating new synergies through this cooperation with Maxwell and SunDrive, helping HJT technology expand into broader markets."
“SunDrive is a remarkable example of how world-leading research from UNSW Sydney can be transformed into groundbreaking commercial success,” said Dax Kukulj, Deputy Director of Business Development & Commercialisation at UNSW. “We are proud to have supported the development of this cutting-edge photovoltaic technology and congratulate SunDrive on this significant milestone in bringing it to market.”
About SunDrive:
SunDrive is an Australian-founded, Sydney-based solar technology company creating unique solutions to reduce the cost of high-efficiency solar cells, whilst enhancing their performance and sustainability by replacing silver with copper, a more abundant and efficient material. SunDrive was co-founded by Vince Allen and David Hu in 2015 based on technology developed during Vince’s PhD research at UNSW. SunDrive’s investors include Blackbird Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Grok Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and has received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena).
About Maxwell:
Suzhou Maxwell Technologies Co. Ltd. (‘Maxwell’) is a high-end equipment manufacturer in the pan-semiconductor industry, possessing independent R&D capabilities in core technologies such as vacuum, laser, precision engineering, software, and automation. In the solar PV industry, Maxwell specialises in advanced production solutions including full-automatic solar cell metallisation lines and HJT cell manufacturing equipment. Founded in 2010, Maxwell has over 5000 employees and customers include the world’s leading solar manufacturers, including Tongwei Solar, Trina Solar, Longi, JA Solar, Jinko, Canadian Solar, among others.
https://www.maxwell-gp.com/en/
About Vistar:
Jiangsu Vistar Equipment Technology Co. Ltd. Co (‘Vistar’) designs and manufactures specialised solar production equipment, specialising in wet chemical processing and equipment automation for next-generation solar technologies.
Last year SunDrive announced a collaboration with global solar manufacturer Trinasolar to pursue the establishment of domestic solar manufacturing in Australia. This joint-development partnership with Maxwell and Vistar represents the path to industrialise SunDrive’s technology from pilot-scale to commercial-scale, to enable deployment in the manufacturing context.
By combining SunDrive’s breakthrough copper metallisation technology with Maxwell and Vistar’s industrialisation expertise and extensive market reach, the partnership paves the way for rapid scale-up and future deployment in domestic and global manufacturing lines.
Maxwell is the global market leader in HJT solar cell production equipment, supplying more than 80% of installed capacity worldwide. SunDrive, Maxwell, and Vistar have collaborated closely for over five years, achieving multiple technical milestones. Notably, SunDrive and Maxwell jointly achieved a world-record cell efficiency of 25.54% in 2021, and have co-authored several publications in leading scientific journals, including Nature, underscoring the depth of the parties ongoing technological cooperation.
“This partnership is a clear validation of SunDrive’s strategy: to focus on world-class solar innovation, right here in Australia, and partner with the best in the industry to bring it to market. Maxwell and Vistar’s extensive track record in bringing commercial-scale solar cell production equipment rapidly to market, and distributing at-scale, represents the ideal launchpad for SunDrive to take our technology to Australia and the world,” said Natalie Malligan, CEO of SunDrive.
The shift from silver to copper is essential to the future of solar manufacturing. As silver becomes more expensive and supply chains tighten, copper offers a scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable alternative. This collaboration helps support HJT’s long-term viability by addressing one of its biggest material constraints.
Mr. Zhou Jian, Chairman of Maxwell, said at the JDA signing ceremony: "Technological innovation is the cornerstone for the photovoltaic industry to overcome cycles and advance toward a brighter future. We hope this collaboration will deepen our joint R&D capabilities in copper plating, achieve new breakthroughs in cell conversion efficiency, module power output, and mass producibility, as well as propel HJT technology into the 780W+ era, opening new frontiers for the industry's development."
Mr. Gong Qing, General Manager of Vistar, said: "We have maintained long-term attention and experimentation with copper plating technology. Starting with seed-layer copper in 2022, we then turned our focus to direct plating technology developed by Maxwell in 2024. Witnessing the advantages of this technology has further strengthened our confidence in it. We look forward to generating new synergies through this cooperation with Maxwell and SunDrive, helping HJT technology expand into broader markets."
“SunDrive is a remarkable example of how world-leading research from UNSW Sydney can be transformed into groundbreaking commercial success,” said Dax Kukulj, Deputy Director of Business Development & Commercialisation at UNSW. “We are proud to have supported the development of this cutting-edge photovoltaic technology and congratulate SunDrive on this significant milestone in bringing it to market.”
About SunDrive:
SunDrive is an Australian-founded, Sydney-based solar technology company creating unique solutions to reduce the cost of high-efficiency solar cells, whilst enhancing their performance and sustainability by replacing silver with copper, a more abundant and efficient material. SunDrive was co-founded by Vince Allen and David Hu in 2015 based on technology developed during Vince’s PhD research at UNSW. SunDrive’s investors include Blackbird Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Grok Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and has received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena).
About Maxwell:
Suzhou Maxwell Technologies Co. Ltd. (‘Maxwell’) is a high-end equipment manufacturer in the pan-semiconductor industry, possessing independent R&D capabilities in core technologies such as vacuum, laser, precision engineering, software, and automation. In the solar PV industry, Maxwell specialises in advanced production solutions including full-automatic solar cell metallisation lines and HJT cell manufacturing equipment. Founded in 2010, Maxwell has over 5000 employees and customers include the world’s leading solar manufacturers, including Tongwei Solar, Trina Solar, Longi, JA Solar, Jinko, Canadian Solar, among others.
https://www.maxwell-gp.com/en/
About Vistar:
Jiangsu Vistar Equipment Technology Co. Ltd. Co (‘Vistar’) designs and manufactures specialised solar production equipment, specialising in wet chemical processing and equipment automation for next-generation solar technologies.
